Maintenance of VVIP samadhis cost Rs 80 crore in 5 years

New Delhi, Dec 1: An RTI reply has revealed that the Government has spent a whopping Rs 80 crore in the last five years in maintenance of VVIP samadhis.

The Samadhi area is spread in 245 acres of land on Ring Road in Delhi along the Yamuna bank. There are nine memorials here including that of Mahatma Gandhi and other political dignitaries.

According to a report in DNA, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) which is responsible for maintenance of the Samadhi Complex has revealed that it is coughing up huge amount in maintaining plush lawns, security etc.

In an RTI reply, the CPWD department said that it has spent nearly Rs 10 crore in last five years in maintenance of Raj Ghat, the Samadhi of the Mahatma Gandhi which is spread in over 44.35 acres of land.

The department is spending an amount of over Rs 2 crore in annual maintenance of Shanti Van, says the report. Similarly, the department has coughed up Rs 5 crore in last five years on Shakti Sthal which is Samadhi of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Samadhi complex also has samadhis of former Prime Ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rajiv Gandhi, Charan Singh and IK Gujral.

Besides, the samadhis of former Presidents like KR Narayanan, Giani Zail Singh, Shankar Dayal Sharma are also there in this area.

A CPWD reply also said that the department has a separate team for Raj Ghat which sees maximum number of visitors.

The CPWD department spends Rs 8 crore in security of the complex. 150 men the CRPF are responsible for the security of the complex.